Yu Tames the Great Flood · chapter 3 of 4
A Door in the Mountain
山里的门
A mountain stands in the Yellow River's way, and Yu has a wild idea. On the road beyond it, someone small is waiting at his door.
Read what you hear
- Narrator 一座大山，站在黄河的路上。水过不去，就跑进了人们的家。
Yí zuò dàshān, zhàn zài Huáng Hé de lù shang. Shuǐ guò bu qù, jiù pǎo jìn le rénmen de jiā.
A great mountain stood in the Yellow River's road. The water couldn't get past it, so it poured into people's homes.
- Boyi 大禹，大家都说，山太大了，我们挖不动。
Dà Yǔ, dàjiā dōu shuō, shān tài dà le, wǒmen wā bu dòng.
Yu, everyone says the mountain's too big. We'll never dig through it.
- Yu 山不会走，那我们就给它开一个门！
Shān bú huì zǒu, nà wǒmen jiù gěi tā kāi yí gè mén!
The mountain won't move, so we'll open a door in it!
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Yu Tames the Great Flood is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Boyi 给山开一个门？山又不是房子！
Gěi shān kāi yí gè mén? Shān yòu bú shì fángzi!
Open a door in a mountain? A mountain isn't a house!
- Yu 今天挖一点，明天挖一点。山再大，门也会开的。
Jīntiān wā yìdiǎn, míngtiān wā yìdiǎn. Shān zài dà, mén yě huì kāi de.
A little today, a little tomorrow. However big the mountain is, the door will open.
- Narrator 大家跟着大禹，一天一天地挖。一个月，两个月……大禹的手都破了。
Dàjiā gēnzhe Dà Yǔ, yì tiān yì tiān de wā. Yí gè yuè, liǎng gè yuè… Dà Yǔ de shǒu dōu pò le.
Everyone followed Yu and dug, day after day. One month went by, then two… Yu's hands were raw and cut.
- Boyi 第一百天！我的手……我的脚……我的天啊！
Dì yìbǎi tiān! Wǒ de shǒu… wǒ de jiǎo… wǒ de tiān a!
Day one hundred! My hands… my feet… oh my heavens!
- Yu 伯益，你听！山里的声音，不一样了！
Bóyì, nǐ tīng! Shān lǐ de shēngyīn, bù yíyàng le!
Boyi, listen! The mountain sounds different!
- Boyi 开了！山开了！黄河的水过去了！
Kāi le! Shān kāi le! Huáng Hé de shuǐ guòqù le!
It's open! The mountain's open! The Yellow River's pouring through!
- Boyi 你看！一条大鱼跳过去了！那是我的晚饭啊！
Nǐ kàn! Yì tiáo dà yú tiào guòqù le! Nà shì wǒ de wǎnfàn a!
Look! A big fish just jumped through! That was my dinner!
- Yu 让它去吧。它也想去大海！
Ràng tā qù ba. Tā yě xiǎng qù dàhǎi!
Let it go. It wants to get to the sea too!
- Narrator 后来，人们叫这个门“龙门”。
Hòulái, rénmen jiào zhège mén “Lóngmén”.
In later times, people called this gate Longmen, the Dragon Gate.
- Narrator 两年过去了。他们往东走，又走到了大禹的家门口。
Liǎng nián guòqù le. Tāmen wǎng dōng zǒu, yòu zǒu dào le Dà Yǔ de jiā ménkǒu.
Two years went by. Heading east, they came past Yu's door once again.
- Nüjiao 大禹！大禹！启，你看，是爸爸！
Dà Yǔ! Dà Yǔ! Qǐ, nǐ kàn, shì bàba!
Yu! Yu! Qi, look, it's Daddy!
- Qi 爸爸！爸爸！
Bàba! Bàba!
Daddy! Daddy!
- Boyi 我？我不是你爸爸！你爸爸是他，腿上没有毛的那个！
Wǒ? Wǒ bú shì nǐ bàba! Nǐ bàba shì tā, tuǐ shang méiyǒu máo de nàge!
Me? I'm not your daddy! He is, that one there, with no hair on his legs!
- Nüjiao 他看见谁，都叫爸爸。
Tā kànjiàn shéi, dōu jiào bàba.
He calls everyone he sees Daddy.
- Qi 爸爸！
Bàba!
Daddy!
- Yu 启！女娇！你们好吗？
Qǐ! Nǚjiāo! Nǐmen hǎo ma?
Qi! Nüjiao! Are you both well?
- Nüjiao 我们都好。你黑了，也老了……你累不累？
Wǒmen dōu hǎo. Nǐ hēi le, yě lǎo le… nǐ lèi bu lèi?
We're fine. But look at you, so sunburned, so much older… Aren't you tired?
- Yu 我不累。女娇，水还没有到大海……
Wǒ bú lèi. Nǚjiāo, shuǐ hái méiyǒu dào dàhǎi…
I'm not tired. Nüjiao, the water hasn't reached the sea yet…
- Nüjiao 我知道。你去吧，我们在家门口等你。
Wǒ zhīdào. Nǐ qù ba, wǒmen zài jiā ménkǒu děng nǐ.
I know. Go on. We'll be waiting for you at the door.
- Yu 启，等水到了大海，爸爸就回家！
Qǐ, děng shuǐ dào le dàhǎi, bàba jiù huí jiā!
Qi, when the water reaches the sea, Daddy will come home!
- Narrator 大禹没有进门。他笑了笑，又走了。
Dà Yǔ méiyǒu jìn mén. Tā xiào le xiào, yòu zǒu le.
Yu did not go in. He smiled at them and walked on.
- Narrator 一年又一年，大禹一直在外边治水。
Yì nián yòu yì nián, Dà Yǔ yìzhí zài wàibian zhì shuǐ.
Year after year, Yu went on taming the water, far from home.
- Boyi 大禹，十年了！你看，我们又走到你家门口了！
Dà Yǔ, shí nián le! Nǐ kàn, wǒmen yòu zǒu dào nǐ jiā ménkǒu le!
Yu, it's been ten years! Look, we've come back past your door again!
- Qi 爸爸！爸爸！你别走！
Bàba! Bàba! Nǐ bié zǒu!
Dad! Dad! Don't go!
- Yu 你……你是启？你这么高了！
Nǐ… nǐ shì Qǐ? Nǐ zhème gāo le!
You… you're Qi? Look how tall you are!
- Qi 是我！爸爸，这一次，你要跟我回家！
Shì wǒ! Bàba, zhè yí cì, nǐ yào gēn wǒ huí jiā!
It's me! Dad, this time you're coming home with me!
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What is Yu's plan for the mountain?
“山不会走，那我们就给它开一个门！”
- Why does Boyi groan when the mountain opens?
“一条大鱼跳过去了！那是我的晚饭啊！”
- What did people later call the gate in the mountain?
“后来，人们叫这个门‘龙门’。”
- Who does little Qi call Daddy first?
“爸爸！爸爸！……我？我不是你爸爸！”
- What does the boy on the road want, ten years later?
“爸爸，这一次，你要跟我回家！”